Remembering Starling Lawrence

Starling Lawrence (often known as “Star”), a highly respected book editor who discovered and nurtured many bestselling authors during his long career with W.W. Norton & Company, died on August 21, 2025, in Manhattan. He was 82. His death was the result of complications from a head injury sustained in a fall the previous April.

Lawrence spent a remarkable 55 years with the publisher W.W. Norton & Company. He started in 1969 as an assistant editor and rose through the ranks to become Editor-in-Chief in 1993 and later Vice Chairman. He was celebrated for his exceptional eye for talent and his ability to shape compelling narratives.

He was renowned for finding future bestsellers in unlikely places. He acquired Michael Lewis’s first book, Liar’s Poker, after the young writer proposed a different project, and went on to edit 17 of Lewis’s books. He also secured U.S. rights for Patrick O’Brian’s acclaimed Aubrey-Maturin series (beginning with Master and Commander) and bought Sebastian Junger’s The Perfect Storm after reading a magazine article.

Lawrence was also an author himself, publishing four works of fiction including the short-story collection Legacies and the novel The Lightning Keeper.

Lawrence was born on March 11, 1943, in Manhattan. He graduated from Princeton University and earned a master’s degree from Pembroke College, Cambridge. He was married three times and had three children—Dune, Peter, and Joshua—from his first marriage.